Saturday, April 2, 2011

For her birthday this year, The Muffin got quite a few cooking-related presents. One of them was a fantastic cookbook called The ABC of Kids Cooking. I really like this book, as it contains enough sweeties to keep the kids interested, but enough savoury things (including dinners and lunches as well as snack-type things) to keep me feeling as though I haven't bought her a book entitled The Kids' Guide To Sugar. It also has the novelty factor of being arranged alphabetically - ie. A is for Apple Turnover, B is for Banana Smoothie, etc. Several of the letters have different versions (eg there are five different recipes under K is for Kebab). We have decided to do the whole book in order (thus ensuring I don't get to say "no" to any of the sweeties, and she doesn't get to say "no" to any of the healthy ones). And, of course, C is for Cookie. The actual cookies were quite yummy. They have a fair whack of honey in them - enough to make them definitely honey flavoured. The icing was what I would call sort of royal icing - egg white, icing sugar, and a bit of lemon juice, but not beaten to peaks like "real" royal icing. I Resisted The Urge to get out my piping bags. The point of this exercise was, after all, a fun baking activity with my four year old, not decorating cookies for somebody's wedding or birthday. So I used a spatula like a good mummy, and called open season on all my sprinkles.

Naturally, they would have looked better if I'd piped them.

These are the ones my daughter did:Not a bad effort for a four year old Muffin, I thought. And the main thing was, we had a ball - and she was so proud of her creations!

So next time you're wondering if you should bake with your kids, or if it's too much trouble - live a little. Do it. Yes, there will be sprinkles on the floor afterward, but that is what your vacuum cleaner is for. And this is what childhood memories are made of.

Anyway, if nothing else, it's a hell of a lot more fun than Today's Thirty-Third Game of My Little Ponies Have A Birthday Party. It really is. Trust me on this one.

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About Me

Hello, and welcome...
I love baking. And sugar. And decorating things - generally with sugar. Other things I love include my lovely and exceedingly patient husband, and our entrancing and not-so-patient daughter (commonly addressed as "The Muffin").
Here you will see lots of butter and lots of sugar... Oh yeah, and also my attempts to get my daughter to try new & healthy foods. Feel free to look around, and be sure to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by!